Long Gone and Forbidden

By: Dragon Lady

Chapter Four

"The necklace should still work. Use it if you have to." Miroku murmured comfortingly in her ear. Kagome took a deep breath and started towards the tree. With every step, her heart beat faster, and her legs became less and less steady. She twisted her fingers in her own grip, moving them every which way, afraid.

Afraid? Kagome? Not when the beads were still around his neck. At least she shouldn't be as afraid as she was. The dark haired girl was scared of what could be, that se might have lost everything when she left a year and a half ago.

Kagome swallowed hard, climbing onto one of the roots of the large tree. Unsure, she reached to touch the bright red clothes of her dog-demon. Her lips twitched slightly, and she reached for the arrow. Her fingers closed around the shaft. The dark haired girl was startled when a hand grabbed her wrist, holding it in a strangling grip.

"Inuyasha?!" Kagome sputtered, trying her hardest to wretch her hand free from his. Slowly, his amber eyes opened and his other arm kept a firm hold on the one against him. He breathed in deeply, inhaling the scents of the changed forest and the people their. He recognized them all. Shaddow, Miroku, Sango, and Keylala were all there with the one who freed him long ago.

"Kagome." The half demon growled, grip tightening. "Don't you dare touch her." He wouldn't let anyone hurt her, not after the promise he'd made.

"Inuyasha! Let Kagome go! She's only here to free you!" Miroku said loudly. His voice carried through the forest, echoing far before dying.

The grip around Kagome's wrist loosened and fell away. The girl fell back, landing hard on her rear end. "Ow!" She exclaimed and rubbed her backside.

"Hurry it up, girl. They're coming." Shaddow hissed. The demoness licked her lips in anticipation. The other demons were gathering, apparently sensing the revival of Inuyasha and the jewel bearer.

Kagome nodded and got back up, climbing onto the root once again. Inuyasha watch the reincarnation with a hateful glare. The girl shivered as she grabbed the arrow again and pulled. The thing shattered.

The white haired boy pushed Kagome away before ripping the vines away. When the girl started to fall away, he grabbed her and cradled her gently in his arms. Inuyasha didn't give the girl on the ground another look, instead kept his full attention on the forest around them.

Miroku and the others ran up only to brandish their weapons. Miroku, hand on the beads around his opposite wrist, stood in front of Kagome. Sango and a full sized Keylala were just off to the sides. Shaddow hadn't moved from her spot near the edge of the clearing.

The girl in Inuyasha's arms moaned weakly, flinching slightly. The half demon held her with one arm and drew his massive sword with the other. He murmured something softly to her before running forward.

"We cut through 'em!" He called back and charging forward. Shaddow jumped at his words, lunging into the brush. The dying scream of some unseen enemy made Kagome start. She was quickly dragged to her feet and thrown atop Keylala. The demon cat ran forward, following Inuyasha. Sango stayed to the back with Miroku, the two working together to cover the escape.

Kagome saw everything that was happening behind her, but she never saw what hit her.

//Kagome's alive? Did she come back and release us, or did she see the consequences of her poor choice? Well, whatever it was, I'm sure as hell gonna hurt her for what she did to me.//

He sliced through another demon, not even watching it drop before moving to the next one. "Damn!" He muttered. "Shaddow! Cover me! I gotta get a better hold on Nat!" He leapt up high into the branches of the nearest tree. Keeping a careful eye on the area around him and letting his ears help, Inuyasha shifted the unconscious girl onto his back. He then tied his sash around her waist and pulled her arms around his neck.

"Inuyasha!" Shaddow cried before taking another blow and being slammed against the closest tree. "Get down here! I can't keep their attention for much longer!"

The half demon nodded and dropped back down, gracefully landing on his feet, and withdrawing the Tetsusaiga once more. He checked behind him. With Nathifa on his back, there was an even greater chance of her being taken or hurt.

"Miroku! Sango! Let's go!" Inuyasha yelled as he pulled the sword up to block. He glanced behind him again, barely seeing what was coming at him before slicing straight through it.

Shaddow was nearly covered from head to toe in blood. But the layers just kept adding as her hand dove deep into the chest of one of the demons. A few seconds later, she pulled her hand out, holding a blood, still beating heart in her palm. She grinned wildly. Anyone could tell she was enjoying it.

//Heh. Figures she wouldn't change much.//

Kagome clung to Keylala with all her strength, not wanting to be thrown or pulled off. She heard Inuyasha yell something to Sango and Miroku, but could make it out over the screams and cries of both human and demon.

A few seconds after the half demon's command, the girl felt someone jump on behind her. Almost without thinking, she threw her arm back to try and know them off, afraid of what it could be. Sango grabbed Kagome's arm and pushed it away. She quickly reached out to grab Miroku's arm and pull him onto the already running demon cat.

Kagome looked up in front of them only seeing Inuyasha, Shaddow, trees, and countless demons. She screeched, wishing she had her bow and arrows right now.

"Shaddow! Inuyasha!" Miroku yelled, leaning as if to hand them his staff. The two looked up and lunged for it at the same time.

"Kagome! Grab onto Miroku!" Sango ordered. The exterminator had already turned enough to hold the monk with one leg and an arm. Kagome whimpered in fear of something going wrong, but didn't move.

Miroku cried out when the weight of people on his staff pulled at his arm. Every one of them heard it pop sickeningly. Sango reached out a hand for either Shaddow or Inuyasha to take. Kagome stared back at the demons that they'd just gone through and that were still following after them.

"Damn it, Kagome!" Inuyasha growled and grabbed the girl's leg, wanting so much to leave her for the demons. Only then did she move to grab his wrist. Her lean started to turn into a fall. They both screamed; Kagome's drowning out Inuyasha's by a long shot.

Neither was aware that they weren't falling until they were both seated on Keylala's back. Kagome looked down to make sure her body was on the demon and not on the ground. She sighed, relieved that she wasn't dead, but was confused as to what had happened.

Inuyasha, on the other hand, didn't take long to figure it all out. Sango had grabbed Kagome at the last minute and pulled her up, but the half demon had been falling for a brief moment. He was confused until a pair of arms tightened around his chest. He looked back over his shoulder, feeling her warm breath slide down his neck and side of his face. He caught her weak smile out of the corner of his eye. He pulled at his sash to loosen it and gently dragged the midnight haired girl around to cradle in his arms.

Miroku, after making sure Shaddow was on, tried moving his arm. He winced at the pain even though it hadn't moved at all. Shaddow rolled her eyes and grabbed him by the shoulder and arm. She then proceeded to pop his arm back into socket. The monk screamed, clutching at Sango's clothes.

The exterminator glanced back and shook her head. Kagome also looked back. Her attention never rested on Miroku, but more or less, fell on Inuyasha holding the girl in his arms. She noticed that he seemed to only be holding her that way because it allowed the others to have a little more room.

The white haired boy caught her gaze and returned a scowl, which made her turn to face the front again. He chuckled a bit evilly before turning his head slightly.

"Where are we headed?"

"To the Rebel city." Sango replied. "Where anyone who works or has anything to do with Naraku is forbidden."

"Demons allowed?" Inuyasha asked, holding Nathifa a bit tighter.

"Yes. As long as they want to help our cause without anything but this world free in return." Miroku answered for the exterminator, rolling his arm slightly. "Don't worry, Inuyasha. No one bears any hard feelings towards anyone there."

"Great. Just the lovey-dovey environment I need." The half demon muttered under his breath. He heard and felt Nathifa laugh once, and glanced down. She was still smiling at him although her steel gray eyes seem to grow heavier with every blink. He grinned slightly at her just before she fell to sleep again, burying her face into his chest. Any trace of the slight smile was gone by that time though, Inuyasha's mind working ahead.

Author Note:

YES, JULIE!! I left you hanging on purpose! That's what happens when you have -chapters-!! Hehe. ^^

Yes, I am a disturbed child. And very proud of it. *grin*